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A Lodging of Wayfaring Men
By Anonymous |
BOOK REVIEW
This is a brief, favorable review of a novel published anonymously.
Our civilization is bereft of heroes. Ayn Rand pointed out that contemporary heroes in western civilization are actors and gladiators. In times gone by we had statesmen, philosophers, warriors, inventors, scientists, engineers and doctors. Where have the heroes gone? The news, television and educational media have passed them by, have erased them from the consciousness of our civilization.
The Renaissance period brought forth the ascendancy of the mind; the intellect of man; the rational mind. The philosopher kings (Plato's term) have regrouped, and, through dumbing down, diversion, and the feeding of all of humanities' addictions have (almost) brought the herd back to the serfdom "it deserves." The novel I am reviewing brings the hero back. The philosopher, the physician/inventor, imbued with selfishness and the love of humanity combined. In Ayn Rand's novels, the heroes were only selfish. "Altruism is the weakness of the downtrodden". This novelist has taken us a step further. Through promoting the welfare of all, each of us and our families grow into fulfilling the fullness of our potential. It is based all on the free market. These concepts close the circle of the philosophy of lessaiz faire.
The novel leads us through a clever plot where the principles of freedom and individuality lead to a free market, one not controlled by governments or by tax men. The narrative is gripping. The reader cannot lay the book down. The book culminates in a number of essays filling in gaps in the philosophy of western civilization.
An enigma remains. Why is the book authored anonymously? I received the book camouflaged in a brown envelope, mailed from Switzerland. Looking at its production, it was clearly the product of a short printing run. A letter in the envelope reads:
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"Hello,
The author of this book prepared a short list of people that might be best able to appreciate it, and instructed us to see that complimentary copies were provided. Your name was included on the list.
This is not a request for endorsements. We thank you if you wish to recommend the book to Should you desire more copies, they are currently available from Laissez-Faire Books. http://laissezfairebooks.com
Thank you,
The Publishers"
I almost forgot the title: A Lodging of Wayfaring Men. A bit odd, don't you think? About halfway through the book we find a quotation from the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter nine. He laments the woebegone ways of his people. They have lost their moorings; they no longer obey their lord. I, for myself, have often noticed that much of the objectivism of Ayn Rand is rooted, perhaps unconsciously, in the Hebrew tradition. This has not been subject to analysis, and the virulent antireligiousness of her writing is one flaw (the other is not recognizing that most people are not rational). This particular novel leads us, in the end, to an exciting scene where the protagonist is interviewed by the Bilderbergers (the true rulers of the world). I will not tell you the outcome; you need to read the book for yourselves. Everyone who thinks he has a rational mind needs to read this novel. Western civilization needs to be rescued, and for this we need leadership; we need a philosophy. The seeds of it are right here in this novel. I am going to say it again: You need to read this novel.
Oh, yes. I forgot to comment on why, at least why I believe, the author chose to remains anonymous. The purpose of this novel is to instill independent responsibility and thinking in each of the readers. If the author were to give her or his name, we would be creating another guru cult. You see, the essence of our civilization is independence; intellectual independence of each member of the middle class. How can you be independent if you follow a guru? Readers of my writing will know how fearful I am of the future of our civilization. Just in the last month, our privacy in medical records is lost. Our privacy in our personal communications and affairs are lost to the Homeland Security Act, and we are threatened in our homes and towns with violence and terrorism from fanatics from out with our borders, and fanatics within government. Who will save us? We have to take responsibilitiy individually, all of us. We need to turn the tide and rescue our civilization. Now is the time. This is a call to arms; moral arms. Read the book.
Thomas Dorman, MD
November 29th 2002